A car apparently driven by a suicide bomber exploded Tuesday in front of a U.S. observation post in central Iraq, sending up a huge fireball and damaging buildings and cars on a main road. There were no reports of U.S. casualties.The front end and two wheels were all that remained of the car, which appeared to have been driven by a suicide bomber, officials said.The bombing was part of a coordinated attack by insurgents, who fired mortars and rocket-propelled grenades at several sites occupied by Marines in the center of the city, which is 70 miles west of Baghdad.... http://www.usatoday.com

Signaling a possible shake-up among President Bush’s senior advisers, the new White House chief of staff told top presidential aides Monday to expect changes that “refresh and re-energize the team.” He invited anyone who is thinking of leaving before year’s end to do so now. Joshua Bolten, who took over the top staff job late Friday, did not ask for anyone’s resignation in his first Monday morning staff meeting with the president’s senior aides, presidential spokesman Scott McClellan said. No one stepped forward to say they would leave, either, McClellan said. But Bolten has Bush’s full authority to make changes to the president’s staff, which has had a low turnover rate, with many aides serving him for years. Bolten already has had closed door meetings with some top advisers and plans more in the coming 10 days or so to talk about their roles going forward, McClellan said. ...http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/11442700/from/RSS/

India said on Monday it would make no explicit commitment to the United States not to conduct fresh nuclear tests as part of a landmark civilian atomic cooperation agreement.New Delhi has refused to sign the Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty (CTBT), calling it discriminatory, but it did announce a unilateral moratorium on nuclear testing after it conducted atomic tests in 1998. The civilian nuclear agreement was finalized when President George W. Bush visited India last month. But a draft of the deal framed since suggested that the pact would be discontinued if India tested a nuclear device, the Indian Foreign Ministry said in a statement. ...http://abcnews.go.com/International/wireStory?id=1850471

Still no progress on forming a new government for Iraq. The parliament was supposed to meet Monday, reports CBS News correspondent Kimberly Dozier, but that was delayed again, while the different political parties had another go-round at trying to compromise on a new government. Prime Minister Ibrahim al-Jaafari's party will stick by him as the Shiite nominee for a second term and will put forward the name of a new candidate only if the premier decides to step aside, a top party official said Monday. The comments by Ali al-Adeeb, himself mentioned a possible replacement, point to further delays in resolving the issue of al-Jaafari, which has blocked formation of a new government. The seven-party Shiite alliance has deferred to al-Jaafari's Dawa party to decide whether to abandon him in face of opposition from Sunnis and Kurds. ...http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2003/02/24/iraq/main541815.shtml?source=RSS&attr=World_541815

U.S. businesses are confronting a new dilemma: how to maintain control in the workplace after an employee complains of sex or race discrimination, without drawing a more damning charge of retaliation.Retaliation claims have risen dramatically, and the Supreme Court considers Monday what legal standard should be used to evaluate the seriousness of changes in employment made by supervisors who may be angry over an employee's discrimination complaint.A decision by the court could affect the balance of power in government and private workplaces nationwide.The case involves a female forklift operator, Sheila White, who complained that her foreman at the Burlington Northern Santa Fe Railway Co. was sexually harassing her....http://www.cnn.com/2006/LAW/04/17/scotus.employment.discrim.ap/index.html?section=cnn_us

For everyone who has put off doing income taxes until the last minute, time's up. Because the normal April 15 filing deadline fell on a Saturday this year, it was extended to today.That means last-minute filers have to get their returns in the mail by midnight or request an extension. There are still some exceptions. Some taxpayers will get an extra day due to the Patriots Day holiday in Massachusetts....http://www.usatoday.com/money/perfi/taxes/2006-04-17-tax-day_x.htm